Shark Baby

“Who am I?” wonders Shark Baby. When his “mermaid's purse” egg case is torn loose in a storm, he finds himself on a journey through different ocean habitats: kelp forests, coral reefs, and seagrass meadows. He learns what kind of shark he isn't, but not what kind he is. He needs to find the “mermaid” to learn where he belongs,

Overview

“Who am I?” wonders Shark Baby. When his “mermaid's purse” egg case is torn loose in a storm, he finds himself on a journey through different ocean habitats: kelp forests, coral reefs, and seagrass meadows. He learns what kind of shark he isn't, but not what kind he is. He needs to find the “mermaid” to learn where he belongs, but the ocean is big and full of dangers. Will he find out who he isand what he can doin time?

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Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

K-Gr 1—As Shark Baby opens, the title character is still in his egg case (also called a mermaid's purse), yet is curious about himself and the world around him. Rough waters jar the case loose from its kelp strand and when it tears slightly, Shark Baby is able to peek out and talk to other marine creatures. On the ocean floor, he meets a horn shark, a pajama shark, and then an octopus that suggests that he find the mermaid. The mermaid (really a manatee) sends him back to the kelp forest where he learns that he is a swell shark. The large, full-spread illustrations are appealing and support the gentle nature of the story. The book concludes with additional facts about sharks and their egg cases and a "True or False" quiz. No sources are listed. A short, sweet story about discovering one's identity and finding one's place in the world.—Stephanie Farnlacher, Trace Crossings Elementary School, Hoover, AL

Kirkus Reviews

This tale of an anthropomorphic baby shark trying to find out who he is has shades of both "The Ugly Duckling" and Are You my Mother? Within his egg case, Shark Baby is curious to know what kind of shark he is. When a storm rips the egg case from its kelp mooring, a tear opens up, allowing Shark Baby to peek out and ask each of the sea creatures he meets, "What are you?" (The ocean current moves him about.) But Shark Baby is not like any of these other sharks. In the end, his instincts serve him well, and identify him, when his egg case bursts in front of a hungry sea lion. Bersani's illustrations combine realism with slightly personified sea creatures and bring the watery ocean world into readers' homes, but they lack a key identifying the species in the backgrounds. Backmatter provides additional facts about sharks and egg cases and a comparison of six shark species by size, from the great white to the tiny pajama shark, whose size on the page precludes readers' making out any details. Readers can also put their knowledge to use by answering some true/false questions and comparing/contrasting three shark species' egg cases. Unfortunately, the ruler at the bottom of the page is obscured by a drawing of a chicken egg, which cuts off the cm/inch delineation. Highlights a side to sharks not often found in picture books, but readers can find better, notably Surprising Sharks, by Nicola Davies and illustrated by James Croft (2003). (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

This book is very good for teaching kids about the ocean. I bought this to start my daughter off on the right foot about conservation. It is a very easy beginning book for young children.

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More than 1 year ago

&ldquo;Shark Baby&rdquo; is a cute book about a shark trying to figure out who he is. He sees other animals of the sea and asks if he is one of them. The story is cute. I don&rsquo;t particularly like the use of &ldquo;Mother Ocean&rdquo; in the story but that is a personal preference for me. The pictures are delightful and would keep the attention of young children. The illustrator uses lots of lively colors with lots of detail. I especially like the large character on each page that jumps out and catches your interest.
The teacher help pages are very good in this book and give added information about the ocean animals as well as questions for teachers to use to increase interest and knowledge. (Reviewed by: Claudette Delorge, Librarian)
DISCLOSURE: A complimentary copy was provided by Sylvan Dell Publishing in exchange for our honest review. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer.